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National Politics as International Process: The Case of Anti-Female-Genital-Cutting Laws

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Elizabeth Heger Boyle  and
Sharon E. Preves
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Abstract

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Looking at power struggles primarily within national boundaries reifies the nation-state and misses larger issues of control in the international system. Using the example of female genital cutting (FGC), we consider the relative importance of local constituencies versus international normative influence in creating national policies. We find that the occurrence of anti-FGC legislation in countries where many individuals support the procedure, the timing and character of national legal action directed against FGC, and the uniformity of political action all lend weight to the importance of international norms. At the national level, we find (1) reform is often a top-down process in which national laws are developed to change rather than reflect local attitudes, and (2) African states tend to work around local communities by adopting bureaucratic policies to combat FGC (Western countries, in contrast, tend to adopt formal laws). At the international level, our findings suggest (1) the structural position of international actors influences whether they deploy assimilative or coercive reform strategies, (2) contradictions among international ideals limits Western hegemony, and (3) international ideals can simultaneously empower (by offering options) and disempower (by disengaging states from local constituencies) local individuals.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , 2000 , pp. 703 - 737
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 by the Law and Society Association

Footnotes

Special thanks to Marci Hoffman, who created our original bibliography, and Angela Heffernan, who provided detailed background information. For helpful comments, our appreciation also goes out to several anonymous reviewers, and to Nitza Berkovitch, John Boli, Jeff Broadbent, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, David Frank, Mayra Gómez, Doug Hartmann, Susan Hirsch, Andrea Hoeschen, Sally Kenney, Ross Macmillan, John W. Meyer, Layli Miller-Bashir, Jeylan Mortimer, Cynthia Myntti, Jennifer Pierce, Francisco Ramirez, Joachim Savelsberg, Perry Seymour, and Kathry Sikkink. This project was funded through grants from the Life Course Center and the McKnight Summer Fellowship Program, both at the University of Minesota.

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